Traffic study: City population goes up, auto use goes down

Seattle’s population is increasing but its traffic volumes are decreasing.

The City Council was told Tuesday that the average number of daily traffic trips in the city in 2009 was just over 900,000. In 2008, it was 920,000 and in 2003 it was nearly 980,000, according to a report presented by the city’s transportation department. Meanwhile the city’s population is growing. In 2000, it was estimated at 563,000. In 2009, the estimate was 602,000.

Meanwhile, the number total number of accidents are going down, according to SDOT. In 2009, there were 13,343 reported collisions, which included 24 fatalities, 11 of which involved pedestrian and four which involved people on bikes.

City Councilman Mike O’Brien expressed an interest in getting better data on bicycle and pedestrians. SDOT officials told him the city had begun using new techniques to gather information on people who bike and walk. Starting this year, data will be collected at 50 locations around the city. It should be available in future years for policymakers.